‘Pitbull’-Warren, Shlemenko-Baker Official for Bellator

Patricio
“Pitbull” Freire tipped the scales at 144 pounds for his 2010
Bellator Fighting Championships featherweight tournament final
against Joe Warren
(144) at Bellator 23 on Thursday at Fourth Street Live in
Louisville, Ky.

The six other individuals booked to compete on the main card --
including 2010 Bellator middleweight tournament finalists Alexander
Shlemenko (185) and Bryan Baker
(184) -- also met their mandated weight requirements at Wednesday’s
official weigh-in.

Unbeaten in 14 fights as a professional, Freire advanced to the
final with a first-round submission victory over William
Romero at Bellator 15 and a unanimous decision nod against
Wilson
Reis at Bellator 18. The 22-year-old Brazilian has delivered 11
of his 14 wins by knockout, technical knockout or submission.

Warren, meanwhile, clinched his place in the match with consecutive
unanimous decisions against John
Eric Marriott at Bellator 13 and Georgi
Karakhanyan at Bellator 18. A decorated amateur wrestler who
won gold at the 2006 Pan-Am Games, the 2006 FILA Wrestling World
Championships and the 2007 Wrestling World Cup, the 33-year-old was
an All-American at the University of Michigan.

The winner of the Freire-Warren showdown will earn a crack at
unbeaten Bellator featherweight champion Joe Soto later
this year. The 23-year-old Soto stopped UFC veteran Diego
Saraiva on a first-round cut at Bellator 19 in May.